As I write this, we are camped about 15 yards from the exterior of a major truck camper manufacturer. When I open my laptop’s WIFI, I can see their “Guest” WIFI network, but the signal is too weak for my laptop.
This situation isn’t unusual. We like to park outside of coffee houses (and Panera Breads – our favorite) and tap their WIFI from Truck Camper Magazine HQ, aka our camper’s dinette. Many a TCM article has been posted and published in this manner. Even better, we’ll go in for coffee and lunch.
Fortunately we always have a Verizon 7730L MIFI Jetpack as a backup. The Verizon Jetpack is fast and reliable, but using it chews through our expensive cellular data. If only we could reach that WIFI…
Back at the truck camper factory, Angela asks, “Couldn’t we use a WIFI extender? Or an antenna?”
In my mind I have an instant conversation – with myself. It goes like this; “Probably, but I don’t know which make/model we would get, or how successful they would be. And do we really need another piece of @#$% technology in this rig? Dang electronics!”
“It probably would,” I say – out loud this time. “I’ll look into it.”
So here I am, looking into it. I could ask Google and search Amazon, but that won’t reveal what I really need to know; would a WIFI booster and/or antenna really work on the road? The only folks I trust to truly know are fellow truck campers. I happen to know a few.
This week’s Question of the Week is, “Do you use a WIFI booster and/or antenna on the road?” If you do, please tell us the make and model you use, and how successful it is in real life truck camping situations.
Recently Steve Cilenti, a TCM reader, emailed us about this topic. He said, “Have you ever done a survey on WIFI signal boosters? I’ve searched the internet and YouTube and there appear to be a lot of options. I’m interested in what other readers have done and experienced.” Thanks, Steve, for also suggesting this idea.
This QOTW is now closed, and the readers have spoken! If you are considering a WIFI booster, there are some great ideas! Here are their 10 Recommended WIFI Extender Antennas.
